Kingdom Hearts: Giver or Destroyer
by Soul Reaper 2.0
Summary: Damien has lived a Horrible life since the death of his parents. Wishing his life would change until that fateful night grants him his wish. But now he must choose his destiny. Xion X OC. Kingdom Hearts is not mine.
1. Chapter 1

Hi. Welcome to my _First _Kingdom Hearts Fanfic. First chapter is up. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Just my OC.**

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Chapter 1: That fateful night

"Yo! Damien! Heads up!" a football whizzed across a large bedroom and impacted against a brown haired boys head.

"OW!" the teen rubbed the back of his head. "What the hell, Jack?"

The black haired boy, Jack, picked up the football and tossed it up and down in his hand.

"Wanna play football?" jack asked.

"No. Now go away."

"Why not, Damien?" jack asked.

"Because I said so, now get out of my room!" Damien shouted while pointing at the door.

"But..."

"Out!" and with that Jack left. Damien sighed as he looked at a photo of his parents and himself when he was younger.

"Why did you have to die in that fire?" he touched a necklace hanging around his neck. The necklace looked like an Indian dream catcher with a crystal in the centre.

Damien was a 16 year old teen. He wore a plain black shirt, blue track pants, white socks and grey sneakers. His hair was light brown with a white lightning bolt dyed on the left side of his hair. His eyes were deep aqua blue.

He slammed his head on the desk he was sitting at. Tears ran down his cheeks.

"I hate my life. My parents are dead. My relatives are cruel to me. I have no friends or a girlfriend. My life sucks! I want it to change!"

Just as he finished, sounds of fighting were heard outside his house.

Damien opened his window to get a better look. The night was clear and starry except the sounds of battle.

"Thank you, God" he whispered. Grabbing a cloak of his chair and putting it on, Damien jumped out of the window and into the street below. Taking one last look at his place, he turned heel and ran to the source.

Reaching the place where the fight was coming, Damien stopped to catch his breath. Crouching behind a newspaper stand, he saw two figures engaged in combat he couldn't tell the difference between the two because they were wearing black coats and were both hooded. He could tell that one had aerial blades and the other, a dark sword.

"Cool." Damien whispered in amazement. Unknown to him, a mysterious figure in a black coat appeared behind him. Damien barely had time to scream before the mystery figure grabbed him and covered his mouth.

"It's okay," the figure whispered in his ear. Damien could tell that the 'assailant' was a female. She sounded calm and gentle. Maybe he could trust her.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she continued. "I'm here to help. I heard that you wanted your life to change."

"Who are you?" Damien asked as she removed her hand from his mouth.

"My name is not important."

"What?"

"Hold still. And please forgive me" Before Damien had anytime to react, he felt a sharp pain pierce through his chest. Within seconds, he fell to the ground, eyes closing as he hit solid concrete. As Damien lay motionless before his vision faded, he could hear the girls and a deep male voice.

"Excellent work, Number XIII"

"Thank you, Superior, but are you sure he's right for the Organization."

"He'll be alright. After all... you granted his wish. Let's get him back to base."

"Yes, sir..." the female picked up Damien up and the two disappeared into a dark portal.

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There you have it. First Chapter! I apologize for the short chapter, i just wanted to get that out of the way. Real stuff next chapter. Read and review.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Meeting the Organization

Damien woke up with a sudden start, gasping for breath. Slowly he sat himself up.

'W- What happened?" he thought to himself. 'Where am I?'

Checking his surroundings, he found himself in what appeared to be a bedroom. As he got up from the bed he was lying on. He examined everywhere finding a few of his belongings: a small pocket knife, an I-pod, a four leaf clover and a bullet connected to a chain.

"I thought this went missing. What's my stuff doing here?" he looked out the window to see a large moon shaped like a heart shining brightly and a dark city below accompanied by a skyscraper.

"What the he-"

"Glad to see you're awake." A voice came from behind Damien. He turned around to see a man with grey hair, dark skin and orange eyes standing in the doorway.

"Who are you?" Damien asked, nervously.

"My name is Xemnas, leader of Organization XIII. You must be Damien."

"You know my name?"

"Yes. We know a lot about you."

"Where am I?"

"The World That Never Was. It is where all Nobodies dwell."

"Nobodies?" Damien was curious.

"That is what we are. And you are too."

"What?" Damien put his hand over his chest. There was no heartbeat. "A-a Nobody? I'm one too?"

"Yes." Xemnas answered. "I'm willing to make you an offer: you can join the Organization as our newest member or go back to your old miserable life. What will it be?"

Damien thought 'Join the Organization and spend a new life or go back to my miserable life. I believe I'll take the first one.'

"Well," Damien spoke. "I made my decision. I'll join. I never like my old life anyway."

Xemnas smiled a friendly smile. "Good choice." A black cloak appeared in his hand. "Put this on and follow me."

Damien did what he said and followed Xemnas. As they walked to the living room, Xemnas spoke.

"Now, since that you're the newest member, you must have a new name. Let's see... how about Dax?"

"I like it. Nice and easy to remember."

"From now on, that is your name." Xemnas put a hand on Dax's shoulder. He looked to see 11 Nobodies playing cards on a large table.

"Saix, Xigbar, Lexaeus, Xaldin, Larxene, Luxord, Axel, Marluxia, Vexen, Demyx, Zexion. I like to introduce you to our newest member: Dax."

They all looked at Dax, who waved.

Xigbar had long black hair with grey streaks in it, which was tied in a pony-tail. He wore an eye patch over his left eye and had a scar on his right cheek.

Xaldin seemed like a dark, mysterious person. He had sideburns on each side of his face and dreadlocks which ran down to his back.

Vexen had long blonde hair and bright shade of green eyes. Dax could tell he was British.

Lexaeus was the biggest among them. His hair was bright orange and stood up like a Mohawk.

Zexion seemed like the silent type. His eyes were a deep blue and his light blue hair covered the right side of his face.

Saix had bright blue hair which was quite long and an 'X' on his face. The most distinguishing features that Dax found were his pointed ears and his yellow eyes.

Axel had bright red hair which spiked up and green eyes and strange markings underneath his eyes.

Demyx had light hair which styled into a mullet. He smiled at Dax.

Luxord was the peculiar one. He had blonde hair and facial hair. He had multiple piercings on his ears.

Marluxia really disturbed the teen. His hair was bright pink and his eyes stared at Dax with interest.

Larxene had bright blonde hair like Luxord but the only feature about her was that two bit of her hair stood up like antennas.

"Place your bet, Xigbar." Luxord said to Xigbar.

"I'll be betting this necklace." Xigbar placed a necklace on the table. Dax recognised the necklace and quickly swiped it of the table.

"HEY!" Luxord and Xigbar shouted in unison.

"I believe this belongs to me." Dax said as he put the necklace around his neck.

"Have you seen Xion?" Xemnas asked.

"She's in her room." Axel spoke.

"Come along, Dax."

"Huh? Oh right!" Dax followed Xemnas down the hallway until coming to a door with the number 13 in roman numerals. Xemnas knocked on the door and opened it. Inside the room, a raven haired girl, wearing a cloak like the others, sat on her bed writing in a diary. She looked up to see Xemnas entering.

"Oh. Hello, superior. What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Nothing, Xion. Just wanting to introduce you to our newest member." Dax appeared behind Xemnas. When he looked at Xion, he blushed heavily.

'Oh man, that girl is cute. What do I do? What do I do?'

"Hey there." Dax looked up to Xion standing in front of him, hand stretched out. "I'm Xion."

Dax finally calmed down and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Xion. I'm Dax."

'He's cute.' Xion thought to herself.

"Well that's everyone." Xemnas broke the silence. "Dax, I'll leave you to get to know everyone. You might want to rest tonight. Your training begins tomorrow."

Dax nodded in response. "Thanks." And with that Xemnas left the room. Dax looked at Xion.

"I'll be looking to working with you, Xion."

"Me too."

"Goodnight." Dax left her room.

"What a nice person." Xion said as she closed her diary.

Dax, now in his room, lay on his bed staring at the ceiling with his hand clutching his necklace. He sighed as he drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Training

"Ah!" Dax woke up sweating and panting heavily.

"Oh man. Not another nightmare. Hell with it."

Dax got out of bed, put his cloak on and walked out to the living room where everyone was eating breakfast or just talking.

"Looks like the newbie's awake." Axel said as he watched Dax sit down and helped himself to some toast.

"Good morning to you, Axel." Dax replied playfully. He yawned. "Didn't get a lot of sleep though."

Xemnas spoke up.

"Dax, you are going to Twilight Town to begin your training. Axel, Xion. You two will train him."

"Got it. C'mon Dax."

Dax nodded as Axel opened a corridor of darkness and the three stepped through.

Twilight Town: Clock Tower

"Alright, kid." Axel spoke up "First to begin with combat exercises. When we encounter Heartless, you need to be to fight."

"Oh I know about the heartless," Dax said. "I had a slight encounter with them."

"How did you survive?" Xion asked.

"I ran." Dax simply answered.

"Ran?" Axel asked with disappointment on his face.

"Back when I had a heart, I was a free-runner. Running was the only thing that made me feel alive. I took the hobby after my parents... after they..." he put his hand over his mother's necklace. "I'll explain later but there's one thing missing."

"What's that?" Axel asked.

"I don't have a weapon." Dax held out his empty hands. Suddenly to everyone's surprise, Dax's left hand began to glow bright. An orb formed and began to take shape. When the light faded, a sword floated in front of Dax. The handle and hilt were encrusted with crystals which shone brightly. Even the blade was engraved with words 'Never give up without a fight'.

"Whoa. This is awesome." He took up a fighting stance as Xion summoned her Keyblade. Before Axel could announce for them to begin, the crystal on Dax's necklace glowed.

"What?" Axel began.

"The heck?" Xion finished.

Behind them, a large Heartless appeared. It's body was black and humanoid and there was a large hole in its chest shaped like a heart. It stared down at the trio of nobodies but mainly stared at Dax's necklace and his weapon.

The Darkside raised its fist and brought it down upon them. Xion and Axel dived out the way but Dax was hit by the shockwave created by the fist. He was sent flying backward, tumbling until he stopped. He struggled to get back on his feet but was too badly hurt.

"Dax!" Axel ran over to him to help him but the Darkside swatted him into the clock tower. Dax watched in horror as the Darkside blasted Xion with a dark energy ball knocking her unconscious. Finally the heartless approached Dax and reached down to grab him and adsorb him.

Staring into the Darksides yellow eyes, Dax couldn't help but think that he was done for. He braced himself for the worst. He suddenly remembered what his father said to him before he died.

_Remember my son. Don't let the darkness consume you! Accept the light! Embrace the light! Use the light!_

A bright energy aura flowed around Dax as he stood up, injuries healing and strength returning. Dax glared at the heartless as it backed off in fear. He looked down at his hands to see that they were glowing with light energy.

"You hurt my friends. Nearly tried to kill me. I almost let myself die. I understand what my father said. You are gonna pay."

The Darkside tried to retreat but it was blasted with a large amount of light. It screeched in pain as the light consumed it, dissolving it until it was nothing but wisps of black smoke. Dax sighed in relief as he sat on the ground, clutching his necklace.

"Thank you, mother. Thank you, father. Thanks for watching over me."

"Dax!" Dax looked up to see Xion and Axel running over to him.

"You alright?" Xion asked. Dax nodded.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Dude... you- you wasted that heartless." Axel cheered in amazement. "How did you do that?"

Dax looked up the sky. "I just believed. That's all."

Xion helped him up but much to Dax's and Axel's surprise: she hugged him.

"I thought you were a goner. I was worried about the fact that we were going to lose you." She pulled away leaving Dax surprised. "So much for training you. Looks like you already know how to fight."

Xion teleported to the top of the clock tower. "Hurry up!" she shouted.

"Looks like someone's got a little crush, Daxy waxy." Axel teased.

"Shut up!"

Within the hour, Dax, Axel and Xion sat on the clock tower, overlooking the entire town.

"Amazing, ain't it?" Axel broke the silence as he asked the two.

"Yeah." Dax replied, not taking his gaze of the sunset. "This is the first time I've seen a sunset. Just what I imagined."

"You've never seen a sunset?" Xion asked him, quite surprised at Dax's statement. Dax looked at her and shook his head.

"Never. Where I came from, we never saw a sunset. Due to the fact that it got dark very quick."

"Oh. That must be sad." Dax could only nod his head in sadness. He felt a hand on his shoulder: it was Axel's.

"Cheer up." He happily said. "At least you're seeing one now. Turn that frown upside down." Dax couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks guys." He held up his pinkie fingers. "I know I only meet you two but let's make a promise."

Xion and Axel looked at him for a few seconds then connected theirs.

"Whenever we may go. No matter what happens. We'll always remain friends."

"Right." Axel complied.

"Always." Xion agreed.

They let go. Xion stood up. "We better go. It's getting late; we've been here the whole day."

"True. Maybe we can tell everybody how our newest member took down a Darkside by himself." Axel stated.

"Sounds like a great idea. I can't wait to the look on everyone's face." Dax agreed. Xion giggled.

"_Especially _on Xigbar's. And he's one of our best fighters." She looked at Dax as he and Axel stood up. She opened up a corridor and stepped through with Dax and Axel.

"No way." Xigbar protested as he, Lexaeus, Larxene and Vexen sat in the lounge area listening to Axel and Xion's tale that Dax took down the Darkside by himself. "That's impossible, dude!"

"It's true!" Xion shouted at him. "Axel and I saw him destroy it with our eyes."

"Bullshit!" Larxene swore. "There's no way that little runt could take on a heartless that big."

"Why won't you believe us?" Xion was starting to get upset. No one would believe her and the pyro. "If you don't believe us, go and see Dax about it."

"Okay then," Vexen piped up. "Where is he?"

"Playing cards with Luxord." Axel simply stated. "He's in the dining area."

And with that being said, Lexaeus, Larxene, Xigbar and Vexen got up and walked to the dining area. When they got there, they saw Luxord and Dax playing a game of last card* it was pretty obvious that the teen was winning.

"Last card. I win." Dax said as he put down his final card. Luxord was shocked and joyed at the same time.

"That's amazing! No one has ever beaten me at my own game. Well done, Dax."

Dax got up from his seat. "Maybe another rematch sometime? Well I'm going to my room. Later." He walked off to his room. As he was about to reach for the doorknob, a pair of hands grabbed him by the scruff of his cloak and spun him around. Dax looked at the face of the person who grabbed him: it was Xigbar. He and the other two were looking quite angry, except for Lexaeus who believed Axel and Xion in the first place.

"Alright kid, spill it!" Xigbar glared straight into the brown haired Nobody's eyes.

"Spill what?" Dax panicked in fear. "What're you talking about?"

"Did you take down that Heartless by yourself?"

"...Yes." Dax was so scared that he could wet his pants. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. "Can you let me go?"

Nobody seemed to hear him.

"So it is true." Larxene whispered to them.

"We have to tell the Superior about this." Vexen suggested. He and Larxene walked to Xemnas's office. Lexaeus walked off in the other direction, leaving Xigbar still holding Dax.

"Um, Xigbar?"

"What?" Xigbar asked.

"Can you let me go?" Xigbar realized that he was still holding Dax.

"Huh? Oh sorry, little dude." He released his grip and teleported away.

"Jeez. What a nerve. Ambushing me like that." He opened the door and entered his room only to find... Xion sitting on his bed staring at a photo.

"Xion? What're you doing in my room?" Xion looked up to see Dax standing in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Hey Dax. Your door was unlocked so I let myself in. By the way." She showed him the photo she was staring at. "Who are these two?" Dax recognised the photo: it was his parents and himself when he was younger. He looked extremely sad.

"I'll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone." He said.

"I promise, Dax. I'm your friend. My lips are sealed." She smiled.

"Well..." he began. "The two in the photo..." he took a deep breath before continuing. "Are my parents and the kid in the picture is me. When I was younger that is."

"Oh. You look cute in the photo as you do now." She said.

"What?" Dax was surprised at what she said. Xion realised that she said it out loud. She blushed with embarrassment.

"Sorry, that was supposed to remain in my head." Her face returned to normal and she stared at Dax. "You did good back in Twilight Town. If you hadn't saved me and Axel. We wouldn't be here right now. Thanks."

"That's alright. After all... you are my best friend. You've been so nice to me ever since we met each other. Xion. You're really kind.

Xion smiled at what he said. Since she was the same height as Dax, she took a step closer and kissed him on the cheek.

Dax was stunned at her actions. His face went bright red as he touched the spot on his cheek. Xion smiled.

"Goodnight, Dax. I'll see you tomorrow." She walked out and closed the door behind her. Dax stood quiet for a few minutes.

"She- she kissed me on the cheek. Wait a minute." He realized the conclusion. "The reason why she hugged in Twilight Town, the nice things she said to me and... oh my god. I have a crush on Xion!" he whispered one last sentence. "I'm in love." He looked at his alarm clock: it was 11:00pm. He yawned.

"That late already? Oh well. Time for bed."

And with that, Dax collapsed on the bed and drifted off to sleep. But was unaware of the fact that his necklace was glowing.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: First Mission

Dax slept in his bed unaware that he was being watched. A mysterious figure stood over him, reached toward him and touched him; Dax's eyes shot open and looked at the figure that was touching him: Marluxia.

"Marluxia! What the fuck are you doing?" he shouted as he shot out of bed. Marluxia grinned seductively.

"I want to give you the 'time of your life', Daxy." He moved closer but was stopped by the teen's hand.

"I. Am. Not. Gay. Got it?" Dax shouted putting emphasis on each word. Marluxia laughed.

"If you don't do what I want. Then..." he held up a book: Dax's journal. "I won't give this back."

"My journal!" Dax summoned his sword. "Give that back!"

"Make me!" Marluxia ran off with. Dax give chase.

"I'll kill you!"

Xion, Axel, Xemnas, Lexaeus and Saix stood in the living room. Xion and Axel were playing chess while Lexaeus watched.

"So Dax _did _take destroy that Heartless yesterday. Impressive." Xemnas said.

"That's what I heard, superior." Said Saix. "What should we do since Dax doesn't have a Keyblade? We need hearts to complete Kingdom Hearts and reach our ultimate goal."

Xemnas thought for a moment before speaking. "If we want to test his abilities in combat, we should send him on his first mission. There has been some heartless activity in Twilight Town, near the old mansion. In the forest to be exact. Lexaeus."

"Yes, Xemnas?" Lexaeus looked up.

"You and Dax will be going to Twilight Town to root some Heartless. Speaking of Dax. Where is he?"

At that moment, Marluxia, being chased by an angry Dax, got tackled and was getting the crap beating out of him.

"I told you! Not to! Touch my stuff!" Dax shouted as he punched Marluxia in the face.

"Enough!" Xemnas shouted as Saix pulled them apart. "What happened you two?"

"Ask the paedophile here. He tried to turn me gay and stole my property!" Dax pointed to his journal in Marluxia's hand. Xion glared a death glare at Marluxia after Dax finished.

"Give it back, Marluxia." Xemnas told him.

"But, Xemnas." Marluxia whined.

"Now!"

"Fine." Marluxia handed the journal but Dax snatched it out of his hand. He poked his tongue out at Marluxia who sulked.

"Serves you right." In a quick flash of light, the journal vanished into thin air. Xemnas began to speak.

"Dax. I'm sending you on your first mission. We've detected a large amount of heartless in Twilight Town, in the forest near the Old Mansion."

"My first mission? Sweet!"

"You'll be going with Lexaeus on this one." Dax looked at The Silent Hero who smiled and opened a corridor. Xemnas left with Saix and Axel went to annoy Vexen.

"You coming?" he asked. Dax looked at Xion. She looked worried.

"You go ahead, Lex. I'll catch up." And with that, Lexaeus stepped through.

"Dax... I..." Xion struggled to get her words. "I don't want you to go."

"Why?" Dax asked her. He was confused. "I don't understand. If there's something wrong, you can tell me."

Much to Dax's surprise, Xion threw herself onto Dax, crying on his chest.

"I'm afraid you might not make it back! Just come back alive." Dax understood the meaning: if he died, Xion would be upset. He loved her but didn't know how to tell her. Whatever he does, he has to stay alive.

"Xion," Xion lifted her head, eyes red from crying. "I promise I'll come back safe and sound." He put his hand on her cheek and _her_ surprise; he kissed her on the forehead. Xion went red.

"..." was all she could say.

"That's for being for generous." Dax smiled and ran into the portal, leaving a stunned Xion.

"There you are, Dax." Lexaeus said as Dax exited the portal and stepped into the forest area. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I had to take care of something." He looked around the area. "This must be the source of activity. There's nothing here."

Lexaeus chuckled. "Looks can be deceiving. You must know when your opponent is going to strike." As he kept on rambling about combat, Dax noticed that the necklace on his neck was glowing.

'This ain't good' he thought. 'Better warn Lex.' Before he could get a word out, several Armored Knights surrounded him.

"Are you even listening to me, Dax?" Lexaeus asked, annoyed.

"Lex! Help!" Lexaeus turned around to see Dax block a strike from an Armored Knight with his sword.

"I could use a little help here." Dax shouted as he sliced the heartless that he was fighting in half. Lexaeus summoned his tomahawk and charged into the group, taking out 4 heartless in a single swipe, leaving 2 behind for Dax to deal with.

Dax was having a little trouble of his own. He saw Lexaeus take out 4 Armored Knights, but now he had to deal with the remaining heartless. And they would _not_ let up!

He dodged a swipe from an Armored knight and blasted the other with a blast of light killing it immediately. He focused his attention on the remaining heartless.

"One down, one to go." Dax ran toward the Armored knight as it charged, only to have it crushed by a boulder summoned by Lexaeus. Dax glared at Lex.

"That was mine." He said, annoyed. Lexaeus chuckled

"You gotta be quicker." Dax sighed and shook his head. He walked up to Lexaeus and gave him a friendly punch in the arm.

"We did good out there, didn't we?" he asked.

"Yea. Guess we did. Well you completed your first mission. When we get back, I'll tell Xemnas that we took care of the heartless." Lexaeus said as he opened a portal. "Let's go."

He stepped through. Before Dax could follow, the portal closed suddenly.

"What the?" Dax was shocked.

"Going somewhere, Dax?" a deep male voice came from behind him. Dax spun around to see a man dressed in red and black robes and red bandages covering his face, only showing only one orange eye.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Dax asked.

"I know quite a lot about Dax... or should I say, Damien." Dax gasped. How did this stranger know his real name?

"That's not my name anymore!" he shouted at the man. "That's my old name!"

The man laughed. "You abandoned your life just to become a Nobody. I see... anyway I want something of yours."

"What do you want?" Dax asked, curiously and suspiciously. The man pointed at his necklace.

"I want that necklace of yours." He simply said. "Hand it over. Now."

Dax's right hand shot up and clutched the necklace. 'He wants my mom's necklace. There's no way in Hell that I'm gonna give her up.'

"I said 'hand it over'" the man repeated himself. "I'm not going to say it again."

"You touch my mother's necklace, I swear to god I'll kill you!" Dax summoned his sword. "This necklace is the only thing that left of her! Don't you dare lay a finger on it!"

"You don't have a choice. That necklace is vital to bringing down the Organization. If you co-operated, then I wouldn't have to do this." The man snapped his fingers. A teen in a black cloak appeared holding a girl captive in his arms. He had silver hair and a blindfold over his eyes.

Dax immediately recognised the girl: it was Xion.

"Xion!" he shouted. "What're you doing here? What happened?" he looked at the man. "What did you do?"

"We napped her when she got here. It turns out she was looking for you." The man replied.

"Dax..." Xion started. "I got worried about you when Lexaeus got back but you weren't with him. So I came looking for you."

Dax was surprised. "You worried about me? Xion... I'm touched. Thanks."

"Enough!" the man interrupted. "You have one last chance! Do what we ask or she dies!" the silver haired teen placed his sword to Xion's neck.

"Dax, help!" she was scared. She didn't want to die.

Dax got into a battle stance. "Let her go!"

"Very well. I see no other way." The man turned around, walking past the teen. "Riku... leave the female and kill him. But bring me that necklace."

"Yes, Diz." Riku threw Xion onto the ground and got into his battle stance. "Diz wants me to kill you, but he wants that piece of jewellery."

"If you want it," Dax readied himself. "Come and get it!"

He and Riku charged towards each other and meet their weapons with a *clash*.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Duel

Dax lunged at Riku who dodged the strike and counterattacked with a dark blast. The blast sent Dax off his feet, tumbling until he slammed against a tree. Badly hurt, Dax struggled to get back on his feet but couldn't.

'I think that attack crushed my ribs.' He thought as his breathing laboured. 'I can't breathe.'

"Giving up already?" Riku asked, smirking. "This will be easy." He grabbed Dax by the throat and pinned him against a tree. Dax choked and gasped for air.

"Now... give it to me." Riku reached for Dax's necklace. The necklace glowed and emitted a large pulse pushing Riku back a few metres. Dax fell on the ground, clutching his throat and gasping for air.

"What the hell?" Riku was shocked at the reaction and prepared to attack. "How did you do that? Why can't I get it?"

"Because my necklace doesn't belong to you!" a voice was heard. A spirit of a brown haired female materialized along with a spirit of a black haired male.

"It belongs to my son." The female spirit said. Dax recognized the two spirits.

"Mom? Dad? I thought you were dead." Dax said.

"We are, son." Dax's dad said. "We've just been watching over you." He saw his sons' wounds. "You're hurt. Honey! Damien's hurt!"

Dax's mom floated over to her son and cupped his face in her transparent hands. "Who did this to you?" she asked.

"He did." Dax looked at Riku. "I only fought to protect someone that I love."

"Who?"

"That girl by the tree." Dax pointed to an unconscious Xion. "I want to protect her but... I'm not strong enough!"

Dax's father spoke. "It's because your powers haven't fully awoken. But we can help you."

"How will you do that?" Dax asked. Suddenly the spirits of his mother and father began to glow and transform into two spheres of light. Slowly they merged into Dax.

A bright light aura surrounded Dax and could've blinded Riku if he wasn't wearing the blindfold. The light enveloped Dax. He could feel his power getting stronger by the second. He stood up on his feet. The light died down, showing that Dax was completely healed.

"This is incredible. I feel so much stronger." He summoned his blade. "Now... where we're we?"

Riku, recovered from his shock, charged toward Dax and brought his blade down, only to be stopped by Dax's hand.

"What...?" Riku hardly had anytime to react before he was punched in the face by a glowing fist. Dax watched as Riku was sent flying. He ran toward Riku and did a flying spin kick, knocking the prick unconscious.

"That's what you get for messing with me." He suddenly realized: "Shit! Xion!" he ran over to her. She was just gaining consciousness. She opened her eyes to see Dax kneeling beside her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah... I-I think so." She slowly got up but felt a sharp pain in her leg. "My leg! I think it's broken. I can't move."

Dax thought for a minute. "Looks I'll have to carry you."

Xion went red at the sentence. "You-you'll do that?"

"I see no other way. Come on." Dax picked her up, carrying her bridal style, he teleported right into Xion's room. Laying her on the bed, he gently examined her leg. He sighed in relief.

"Your leg isn't broken. It's just sprained." His hand began to glow. "Hold still, this won't take long." He began to heal her leg with his light powers.

"Dax, I want to thank you."

"For what?"

"You risked your life just to save me. I'm grateful."

Dax looked at her and smiled. "You're my best friend, Xion. And that's what friends do: look out for each other. By the way, who were those two that we saw in Twilight Town?"

"Their names are Diz and Riku," Xion explained. "Diz is an enemy of the Organization and Riku is his lackey. Diz has tried for many years to destroy us and has a personal vendetta against Xemnas. He has tried to recruit new allies but all have turned him down because they didn't want to get involved."

"What happened to those people?"

"He killed them all. Those innocent people. Dead."

Dax was horrified at the news. His fist trembled with rage. 'That bastard. He kills them just because they refuse to do what he wants. He's a monster and a sick freak. I'll kill him next time I see him.'

"Dax, you alright?" Xion snapped him out of his angry thoughts.

"I'm fine, just mad at the prick. He doesn't deserve to live." Dax said, still angry of the news. He stood up and walked to the door.

"Where're you going?" Xion asked, still on the bed. Dax looked at her.

"I'm going to my room for awhile. There's something I need to catch up on."

"Okay, I'll come and see you later." Dax nodded and left.

He walked down the hallway and stopped in front of his door. He was about to open it and step in until a spear whizzed over his head. He ducked as it harmlessly whizzed over. He turned to see Demyx being chased by Xaldin.

"Hi, Dax!" as Demyx ran past him, being chased by Xaldin, who was looking extremely pissed.

"I'm gonna kill you, Demyx!" he roared as he flew past Dax. He sighed.

"Don't get involved. Don't get involved." He said to himself as he entered his room and closed the door.

An hour later

Dax was asleep at his desk, head on desk. Unknown to him, his door opened and Xion snuck in.

"Dax?" she whispered. "You in here?" she heard snoring. Looking at Dax, who was happily sleeping, she smiled. She noticed an object lying on the desk.

'What could this be?' she thought as she picked it up. Her eyes widened in surprise and she gasped: in her hand was a crystal necklace. There was a note attached to it. The note said:

'To Xion.

If you found this note, that must mean you found the necklace. Consider this as a gift to you for being so kind to me. But there's something that's been bothering me. I can't shake the feeling. It's hard to explain. It's just that I have developed feelings for you ever since we met. I hope you understand how I feel.

From Dax.'

Still holding the necklace in her hand, Xion bent down to Dax and whispered in his ear.

"I do. I feel the same way." She pecked the sleeping boy on the cheek. She put the necklace around her neck, she walked out and closed.

Dax suddenly began to quiver and his breath got shaky.

"_Damien, run!" his mother shouted as the flames closed in. "Get out of here!"_

"_No!" Damien screamed, tears rolling down his face. "I won't leave you!"_

"_Damien, don't be a fool!" his father shouted. "Run or you'll be killed. You got to survive!"_

"_But I don't know what to do, dad! I'm scared!"_

"_Listen to me, son. Remember this even you won't understand this: don't let the darkness consume you! Accept the light! Embrace the light! Use the light!" he was crushed by a burning rafter._

"_Father! No!" Damien cried._

"_Damien..." his mother said, weakly. "Take this." She yanked her necklace off her necklace and placed in his hand. "It'll keep you safe."_

"_You're giving your necklace? I can't!"_

"_Yes, you can. As long as you wear my necklace and the lightning bolt in your hair. You'll always have a piece of us with you. Now run!" the flames consumed her as Damien watched in horror as he heard her screams of agony._

"_Mother!"_

"Ah!" Dax woke up with a start. He was sweating heavily and panting. He looked down at his hands, they were shaking.

"Oh God. I hate nightmares. I wish that I can just dream the good times that I had when I was a child." He head-desked. Something caught his eye. There was a letter on the desk.

"What's this? A letter?" he began to read it.

The letter said:

"Dax.

Thanks for the gift. I love it. When you said that you have feelings for me and asked if I understood. I do. But I have a confession to make. You remember that figure a few nights ago? The one that grabbed you? That was me. I was the one that took your heart. Before we met, I've been watching you for awhile. It made me upset how you were treated. You begged for your life to change, so I made it happen.

I hope you understand me for what I did.

Xion."

Dax smiled and put his hand over where his heart would've been. "Thanks for understanding, Xion."

There was a knock on the door and it opened. Xion stepped in.

"HI Dax, what's going on?" she asked. Dax just smiled and stood up. He walked over to her and hugged her.

"Thank you." He said. "Thanks for everything."

"For what?" she asked, confused.

"You understand how I felt. And how my old life was horrible." Xion was silent for a minute.

"Dax. We need to talk." 


End file.
